THE WINNER of the 2009 RDS Irish TimesBoyle Medal for Scientific Excellence does not beat around the bush. He firmly believes that science can save the world.
Prof Luke O’Neill will explain just how this might be accomplished at his Boyle Laureate Lecture, which takes place at the Royal Dublin Society on November 16th. He will also talk about the ground-breaking research into immunology that enabled him to win the medal, Ireland’s most prestigious prize for scientific endeavour.
The professor of biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, O'Neill was declared winner of the 2009 RDS Irish TimesBoyle Medal on October 7th after selection by an international panel.
The medal, instituted by the RDS in 1899 to recognise scientific research excellence, will be conferred on O'Neill at an event at the RDS after which he will deliver his lecture, which is entitled, From Passion to Practical Benefits: Why it's Great Being a Scientist.
O’Neill is an accomplished and entertaining public speaker. He has great skill in making his difficult research work completely accessible and easy for a lay audience to understand.
He will talk about his work, discussing immunity and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The lecture will also deal with O’Neill as scientist, what attracted him to the subject and what he enjoys about it. He will describe why he thinks scientists are the best of people.
The lecture takes place on Monday, November 16th, at 7pm, in the RDS Concert Hall. Admission is free of charge and open to all, but advanced booking is essential due to demand.
To book, contact Karen Sheeran at the RDS on (01) 6680866 or by e-mail at karen.sheeran@rds.ie.
Further details on the lecture are available on the RDS web site, www.rds.ie
